India vs South Africa 2019: 3 decisions that paid off for India in the Test series

India whitewashed South Africa in the three-match Test series to continue as table toppers of the ICC World Test Championship. After registering a 203-run victory in the first Test at Visakhapatnam, India outplayed the Proteas in the rest of the series by ticking all the right boxes. They demolished them in the subsequent Tests with innings victories (by 137 runs in the second Test at Pune and by 202 runs in the third Test at Ranchi).

In contrast to India's clinical outings, South Africa failed to create any foundation for themselves. The captaincy errors of Faf du Plessis let the team down whenever South Africa had a chance of making a comeback. The poor performances of other players too made things difficult for them, ultimately costing them the series.

Practically every move that India made in the series, produced results. Here are three such decisions that paid off for India in the series:

#1 The decision to open with Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal

India's 'Rohit-Agarwal' experiment proved to be successful in the series

India had been searching for a formidable opening pair since the exit of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. After trying several combinations, they finally zeroed in on Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal and assigned them the responsibility to face the red cherry against the Proteas.

The Rohit-Agarwal pair grabbed the opportunity with both hands and put up a record partnership of 317 runs for the first wicket in their very first outing together. The duo took time to settle in but later attacked the bowlers, showing the class they possess.

Agarwal converted his maiden ton into a classy double, while Rohit smashed centuries in both the innings of the first Test.

The two continued their fine form throughout the series. Agarwal registered another hundred with his sublime batting in the second Test on a bouncy wicket at Pune while Rohit compensated for his failure in the second Test with a brilliant double hundred (212 runs off 255 balls) at Ranchi.

Rohit and Agarwal have not only cemented their place in the playing XI but also seem to have ended India's long search for a solid opening pair.

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#2 Replacing Hanuma Vihari with Umesh Yadav

Umesh Yadav

Hanuma Vihari had a fabulous series against West Indies where he scored 289 runs in four innings at an average of 96.33, including his maiden Test hundred. After such impressive numbers, he was thought to have cemented his place in the Indian middle order.

However, keeping in mind the assistance that the Pune pitch could provide to the pacers, India decided to go with an extra fast bowler in the second Test and dropped the in-form Vihari - drafting in Umesh Yadav instead.

Umesh immediately got into the act and ran through South Africa's top order, pushing them to the backfoot. After troubling the South African batsmen with his pace and accuracy in the first innings (3/37), the Indian speedster took another three wickets in the second innings (3/22) to give India their second victory of the series. In the process, he also retained his place in the playing XI for the third and final Test.

Umesh continued his purple patch at Ranchi too, scalping 5 wickets in the match (3/40 in the first innings and 2/35 in the second innings) and helping India sign off the with a clinical innings victory. He also set a record with the bat as he hit George Linde for five sixes, scoring 31 runs off just 10 balls at a strike rate of 310 - the highest for any innings lasting 10 balls or more in Tests.

Umesh's performance with the ball in the last two matches never let India feel the absence of an extra batsman.

#3 Sending Ravindra Jadeja at No. 6

Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja was an obvious choice in the playing XI after his decent show on the West Indies tour. He along with Ravichandran Ashwin spun a web around the Proteas batsmen; the duo lived up to the expectations, scalping 28 wickets combined.

However, it was Jadeja's batting that caught everyone's attention.

The move to send Jadeja at No. 6 in the series helped India score some quick runs before the declaration of the innings. With scores of 30*, 40, 91 and 51, Jadeja proved that he is a perfect fit at No. 6 and gave India the 50-odd run advantage to put pressure on South Africa.

Jadeja's ability to score as per the demands of the situation at No. 6 helped India accelerate at the right time and post competitive totals, from where they could choke the South African batsmen with their world-class bowling.